Residents sue San Diego over tent bearing conditions

By Calmatters’ homelessness reporter Marisa Kendall:

As cities in California increasingly Break on homeless bearingsMost still don’t have enough shelter beds. So, in order to give people a place to go, which is not a city street, some places create sanctioned camps where people sleep at a certain lot in tents purchased from the city.

But a federal case brought to San Diego this week claims that the two camps of the city (who have nearly 800 tents) force people to live in uninhabited and inhuman conditions.

Residents complain of exceptional heat in the summer and cold and floods in winter, overcrowding, inadequate dishes and infection with rats that lead to rats crawling over them at night, according to the complaint.

• Anne MenacheThe lawyer who brought the case: “This is a dangerous, non -hygic environment that actually hurts people’s health and life. It must stop.”

Menash brought the case on behalf of eight disabled plaintiffs, who say that poor conditions in the camps have exacerbated their health conditions. A 49-year-old man said he couldn’t turn on his CPAP machine at night and complained that the food was not suitable for managing his diabetes. A 59-year-old woman who uses a walker said she couldn’t bathe for two months as a shower with a handicap on the site was out of order.

• Matt HoffmanThe city’s spokesman, in an email statement: “The city is seriously claiming potential violations or dangerous conditions. The safety and well -being of people served through the safe sleep program has and will always be the main priority.”

He said the damage control visits the sites several times a month, and on the last visit to July confirmed that there was no infection.

San Diego Safe Sleep Sites Provide food and give residents access to baths, showers, security workers and cases that can help them find a permanent home. They opened just before the city imposed new restrictions Of public property camping.

Other cities in California accept this approach. San Jose, who was inspired by the San Diego model, is Building your first sanctioned camp for up to 56 people.

So California Climate CreditA discount of linear elements, which the utilities owned by investors pay to homeowners, tenants and small businesses.

Carbon -funded, the loan is shown twice a year and is attached between about $ 50 and $ 80. Legislators are now offering a loan, which would prioritize home clients, pay money over months with large towers, and base the amount in the dollar on energy use.

Instead of distributing “relatively moderate” cash payments, said Climate Code expert Ethan Elkind, “the legislature can instead use the same dollars to create a far more impact on tariffs and the environment.” Elkind, who runs the climate program at the UC Berkeley Rights Center, Energy and the Environment writes that the state can be Climate redirection to financing energy efficiency instead.

By a CalMatters Economy Economy Reporter Levags:

Unemployment claims were rising after wild fires in La County in January, with about 11,000 people in the county and surrounding cities filing new claims during the weeks after the deadly flames, a new report shows.

The new unemployment insurance claims increased from about 5,000 weeks before the fires to about 12,000 in the first week after the fires and remained higher for several weeks, according to an analysis by the University of California California Laboratory for PolicyS

More than 5,200 workers who would usually not be entitled to regular unemployment benefits-such as concerts, performers and self-employed workers-filed claims for help with disaster unemployment.

The largest initial leap of claims comes from workers in the accommodation and food services industry. Researchers also note an increase in the claims of healthcare, social assistance and real estate workers. The tide of claims came mostly from postal codes directly affected by the fires, but also from the surrounding areas such as Central and South LA, where workers probably traveled in the affected fire.